Chapter 17: Gorgeous.

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All the crows had a scar and their reasons, snd everyone had a scar in their hearts, Kaz because of Jordie, Zaria because of her own mother etc...

And if anyone heard that a group of teenagers broke into the Ice Court and rescued their precious prisoner, people would gasp and start spreading rumors and legends about the 7 dregs.

And Zaria couldn't wait to hear mother's tell their childrens about the legend of the 7 teenagers with their sleeves full of tricks and lies.

Sure, she was scared to go to Fjerda, especially when she is a grisha, she didn't want to be burned alive, not when she almost was.

Nor talk to the people who are the reason why parents lost their children and didn't know whenever their sons or daughters ran away, or went missing, or are alive.

Their loved ones didn't know anything.

So she should probably send a letter to her step mother to inform her that if she doesn't answer the upcoming letters, then she's either dead, brutally injured or in a coma.

Kaz didn't seem surprised. On the contrary, he even looked rather satisfied. Matthias had the unpleasant feeling that for the demon, nothing that happened was a surprise.

"I can give you something better," Replied Kaz, Better? What's better than taking vengeance? Zaria turned towards the bastard of the barrel with a frown, "There’s nothing else I want.:

“I can make you a drüskelle again.”

Matthias scoffed, "are you a magician, then? A wej sprite who grants wishes? I’m superstitious, not stupid."

“You can be both, you know, but that’s hardly the point.” Kaz slipped a hand into his dark coat.

"Here." He gave the suli girl a piece of paper. Another demon, how many demons are there in this group? Cause according to his calculations, he met 3 for now. Her footsteps are so quiet he can't hear anything not even the cracking of the wooden floor. She placed the paper closer to his eyes so he could read it.

The paper was in Kerch and Fjerdan, he didn't know how to read Kerch just like Zaria except few words from prison. But of course his language was easier and it took him a second to read the paper in a blink of an eye.

Zaria on the other hand couldn't read Kerch or Fjerdan, but Ravkan and Zemeni were her number 1 languages, she knew some words in Fjerdan such as gestinge which means paradise.

And others, though if she didn't read, she understood what they were talking about. Matthias heart started pounding.

In light of new evidence, Matthias Benedik Helvar is granted full and immediate pardon for all charges of slave trafficking. He is released on this day,......., with the apologies of the court, and will be provided transport to his homeland or a destination of his choosing with all possible haste and the sincere apologies of this court and the Kerch government.

"What new evidence?" Kaz leaned against his chair, "It seems Nina Zenik has recanted her statements. She will face charges of perjury."

He shot her look, and now he could see the mark he left in her neck, "Perjury? How long will you serve for that, Zenik?" Nina's voice was calm and quiet, "Two months." She replied.

“Two months?” Now he did laugh, long and hard. His body twitched with it, as if it were poison constricting his muscles. The others looked at him in concern and Zaria stared weirdly at him before leaning in to whisper to Jesper.

"Jail made him go insane." She muttered to the Zemeni boy but she's quite sure everyone heard her, eyes still on the fjerdan she spoke in slight worry.

"Don't you dare go to jail, Jesper." She said eyes still glued on Matthias, Jesper turned to look at her with a frown, "why would you assume I'll ever go to jail?" He asked with a cocked eyebrow, "I am not saying you are going, I mean... no offense love, with your gambling addiction... i wouldn't be surprised."

Jesper's jaw dropped as he stared at the girl in disbelief, "that hurts." He said putting his hand on his chest dramatically fainting on her as she grunted at him being taller than her.

"I'll drop you Jesper, I swear-" she threatened the Zemeni boy who fluttered his eyes shut and stuck out his tongue playing dead, "she's saying the truth." Muttered Wylan and with that the sharshooter jolted away shooting Wylan a look.

"Exactly, thank you Wylan, listen to your boyfriend, you dumbass!" She flicked the back of his head before grabbing his hat and putting it on her head.

“Just how crazy is he?” asked Jesper, fingers drumming on the pearl handles of his revolvers.

Brekker shrugged. “He’s not what I’d call reliable, but he’s all we’ve got.” Zaria turned to look at Nina who didn't say a word, she couldn't describe what she was feeling because everything was mixing  in a blurr; sadness, fear, rage as hot as a dragon's fire.

“She can’t be trusted, you know,” he said to Kaz. “Whatever secrets you hope to gain from Bo Yul-Bayur, she’ll turn them over to Ravka.”

Zaria trusted Nina with her entire heart, even if they meet just few months ago, the pretty heartrender gained her full trust and Zaria would do anything for Nina, two grishas in a city full of robbery and blood.

“Let me worry about that, Helvar. You do your part, and the secrets of Yul-Bayur and jurda parem will be in the hands of the people best equipped to make sure they stay rumours.”

Zaria stepped in once noticing Nina's situation, "listen, drüskelle." She spoke, the fjerdan word leaving her lips perfectly as if she's been speaking fjerdan all her life.

"just because you do not trust her, doesn't mean we don't, Nina has been trying to save your ungrateful ass for months and now.. look at you, i'm starting to regret not to sew your mouth shut before you wake up"

The needle and thread on his mouth immediately made him shiver and try to brush off the uneasy feeling in his stomach. If the demon is saying the truth, Matthias will go back home without getting his tongue cut off, legs broken or any injury possible

"What if Bo Yul-Bayur is dead?" he asked.

"Van Eck insists he isn’t." Zaria rolled her eyes and the first thing that came to mind was 'fuck Van Eck', her hatred for merchants and men in general grew at the mention of Jan van Eck as she tried not to throw up, Matthias people would never free a man with such terrible knowledge.

"But what if he is, Brekker?" Demon. He wanted to call him a demon, “You still get your pardon.”

'Van eck.' She thought with a scoff, 'as if he is a saint to know if Yul-Bayur is alive. Why would he insist he isn't dead when he himself offered this heist to us?' She thought sighing at Kaz obsession with money, she understood his whole dream of becoming rich and she wished the same thing.

She wished to have her own mansion, live with her step sister and mother and even have other grishas to live with them or girls with no homes

Kaz turned to look at the raven haired girl who still wore Jesper's hat, he gestured towards the fjerdan and she didn't think twice before grabbing one of her daggers Inej handed her stepping towards Matthias.

Fear was clear in his eyes along with rage, yet he calmed down at the demon words.

"We’re going to untie you," said the bastard of the barrel, "I hope prison hasn’t robbed you of all your manners or good sense."

Matthias nodded, and the Zemeni girl stepped closer kneeling in front of him "I believe you know Nina," Brekker continued.

"The gorgeous girl freeing you is Zaria, the storm or ketterdam's charming saint, the lovely suli, Inej, our thief of secrets and the best in the trade. Jesper Fahey is our sharpshooter, Zemeni-born but try not to hold it against him, and this is Wylan, best demolitions expert in the Barrel."

Zaria froze at Kaz calling her gorgeous, heat rushed to her cheeks and back of her neck as she shook her head fighting down her grin before getting rid of ropes.

"Raske is better," Inej said.

The boy looked up, ruddy gold hair flopping in his eyes, and spoke for the first time. "He’s not better. He’s reckless."

"He knows his trade."

"So do I."

"Barely," Jesper said, "Wylan is new to the scene," admitted the gloved boy.

"Of course he’s new, he looks like he’s about twelve," said Matthias regretting his words once she shot him a look, "I’m sixteen," said Wylan sullenly.

Zaria on the other hand walked back towards Nina leaning against the wall replaying Kaz Brekker's words over and over again, Nina noticed the girl cheeks reddening by the second.

And she could hear her heart beat getting louder by the second, "your heart is about to jump out, love." Nina spoke with a small smile nudging the girl to snap her out of her fantasy world.

"What?" Said Zaria clearing her throat and letting out a exhale, "uhm, just the stress from the heist." Nina hummed as if not believing her, "yeah right, uh huh the stress from the heist."

The girl turned towards Nina who was still staring st her with a cocked eyebrow, "you are blushing." And with that everyone turned to look at the two grishas.

Zaria's hand was on Nina's mouth as she pinned her to the wall with wide eyes, "hush." She whispered harshly before turning to look at the crows, waving them to continue their conversation before dragging Nina out of the room.

"Saints, you really trying to get me killed aren't you?" Muttered the Raven haired girl, "girl, that's not the problem, Dirtyhands called you gorgeous?!" Nina had a wide grin spread across her face by now.

"I know!"

"That's why your heart was beating so fast, for what he said?" The girl looked away from the heartrender, "I don't know Nina... I seriously don't. The only thing I know is that I am in deep fucking shit."

Nina didn't know what to say, she knew that Zaria is catching feelings for the bastard of the barrel, both of them were in fact, watching as the squaller chuckled nervously and ran a hand through her hair.

"I am fucked, aren't I?" The girl asked turning her head to the wall and started hitting her head against the wall, "and saints, when he called me that, I swear even Matthias noticed the way I just...froze."

Nina placed her hand before the girl could hit her head against the wall in frustration, her forehead pressing against her palm, "I don't know, he doesn't believe in that, I am just here for a while and I'll go back home... back to Novyi Zem. And I, I have duties as an older sister, I have a step mother to take care of, I have a whole family under my wing... and I think this is just a silly crush that will be gone in a blink of an eye."

The last sentence came out as a whisper as she turned to look at the heartrender who listened quietly, that was the same thing Nina thought at first when meeting Matthias, it's just a silly crush.

But as days went by, the silly crush became something way bigger, they fell in love and yet here they are.

Matthias wanting to kill her.

Nina sighed, "you are planning on going back to Novyi Zem?" Zaria turned towards the heartrender, "yeah, I'm not staying here forever, am I?" The girl said chuckling, Nina nodded understanding her completely, she also missed Ravka.

"Kaz will be heartbroken when you leave." She scoffed, "yeah right, as if he would care about a girl who came months ago." She hoped the green eyed beauty was joking but no... she wasn't.

"Nina, please, don't give me that look. He doesn't care about my existence and i'm sure him calling me gorgeous was just by accident!" Exclaimed Zaria huffing in slight annoyance, she wasn't annoyed by the girl, she was annoyed at herself.

"He doesn't care about me the way I care about him, and that pisses me off, and please, I am begging you make me forget about this torture. Crush my heart, I don't care."

She was in love and Nina felt her heart sink at the girl begging her to crush her heart to free her from this torture, "I..." was all she said and without even thinking she pulled the girl to her embrace.

"I don't know, maybe he'll like you back, i'm hundred percent sure, have you heard his heart when he sees you?" The girl whispered in her ear and Zaria could feel herself blushing.

"I hope.